Now & Then
by Zesty Bod
Summary: Fitz's Presidential campaign is not going well, so Cyrus calls in help from Olivia Pope. Only this time, it isn't love at first sight because Fitz and Olivia have met before. Even after ten years apart, the damage from their previous relationship lingers and they will have to get beyond their past if there is any hope of a future.
1. Prologue

**NOW & THEN**

**Hey guys. I'm still working on ideas for my sequel to "You, Me & Us," and this idea popped into my head. I have a few chapters done and a fairly good idea of where I'm going with it. I will probably save the sequel to my previous story until after "Scandal" goes into summer break...so we can have something to distract us! Let me know what you think of this one.**

Prologue

_January 2008_

Fitz stared at the paper Cyrus had just handed to him, shaking his head in disgust. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the numbers didn't lie. Sally Langston was beating him handily in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination and nothing they did seemed to work. No amount of phone calls, campaign stumping or knocking on doors made any difference.

"We need help," Cyrus said, after a few minutes of silence.

"We don't need help."

"We need a shitload of help," he said dryly. "Your campaign's dead in the water. Unless we do something, and fast, you're going to be out of this thing before we even make it to Super Tuesday. We need a spark."

"Then get us a spark," Fitz said sarcastically. "You're my campaign manager. You're supposed to figure out this behind-the-scenes stuff, not me."

"I know. And that's exactly why I've called in help."

Fitz groaned and threw his hands up in frustration.

"Fine. Who is he?"

"_She_ is a former protege of mine. She's very bright and I've seen her work miracles for other candidates before. Whatever it is we're not seeing, she'll spot it and fix it. And she's already agreed to help. All you have to do is say yes." When Fitz made an unimpressed face, Cyrus continued with, "just meet her before you say no. She'll be here today."

"Fine," he grumbled. He stood, leaving his suit jacket slung over the back of his chair. "Let's get out there and talk to the staffers."

Cyrus followed dutifully as Fitz led the way to the large, auditorium-like room where his volunteers and staffers were waiting for him. The room was dreary and enthusiasm was non-existent. He almost wanted to pack up shop right then and there, but he decided to give the little speech that he had come up with in his head.

"Well, there's no way to sugar-coat it...we got our ass handed to us by Sally Langston in Iowa last night. So, anyone have any great ideas?"

The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"Anyone?"

"We have to swing farther right," a red-headed girl spoke up. "We haven't said a thing about gay marriage, school prayer..."

It took everything in Fitz not to roll his eyes and tell her to get out.

"Oh, come on, it's not our stances on the issues. We are not getting our message out there. People don't know where I stand. The problem is..."

"Your marriage," another voice spoke up.

And before Fitz could even spot her in the crowd, he knew exactly who the voice belonged to. It was a voice that had been seared into his brain many years before. His eyes led him to the source of the sound and when he saw her, his heart nearly fell out of his shoes. She looked older, more womanly, and she wore that confident smile that had, at a time, made him weak in the knees.

"It looks like you don't screw your wife."

She started walking from the back of the room, continuing her monologue about his dead marriage and why Republicans would never vote for a man that didn't diddle his bride. But he barely heard any of it. He was too fixated on her walk, her clothes, everything about her. She finally made it to within a foot of his personal space, and her smile softened.

"Governor Grant. It's good to see you again."

Whatever nostalgia he had been feeling was quickly replaced by anger. He didn't say a word to her; instead, he turned to Cyrus and said, "we need to talk." He stormed out of the room to the bewilderment of nearly everyone. When he got to his office, he barely waited for Cyrus to enter before he said, "fire her."

"What? Are you kidding? She just gave a spot-on assessment of what's wrong with your campaign!"

"Fire her," he said firmly.

"Oh, come on, Fitz. Don't tell me you're getting all sensitive because she actually had the nerve to say what the rest of us were thinking. I didn't know you were so protective of Mellie," he said in a teasing tone.

"Trust me, it's not that."

"Then what is it? Olivia Pope is the best student I've ever had! She's damn near close to a miracle worker and a miracle is what you need if you intend to make an actual run at this thing."

Fitz stood behind his desk and placed his hands on the wood. He leaned over to make sure that Cyrus heard him loud and clear.

"Fire. Her."

Cyrus frowned. "No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"Cyrus, this is my campaign."

"Yeah, and you've run it straight into the ground. I'm not going to let you ruin it any more than you already have. We need Olivia and I don't know what your beef is with her but you'd better chop it up and eat it because she's not going anywhere. Put on your big boy pants and suck it up."

With that, he left the office. Fitz hung his head, wondering what on Earth he was going to do about Olivia, and when he looked up again, there she was...standing in the doorway of his office, looking way too beautiful and vulnerable with her big brown eyes. He watched silently as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. When she looked at him again, she opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to the punch.

"Why are you here?" he asked angrily.

"Because Cyrus called and asked me to help. When he told me it was you, I originally said no. But then he went on and on about great you are and how much he believes in you and I remembered feeling that way about you once. So I said yes."

Fitz scoffed. "You remember feeling that way about me," he repeated. "Did you feel that way before or after you broke my heart?"

Her eyes fell in a guilty expression. "Fitz..."

"No," he interrupted. "You don't get to call me that. I stopped being 'Fitz' to you when you walked out on me."

"What was I supposed to do?" she asked. "You were married with two little kids. Not to mention the situation we were in. It would have never worked."

"Well you certainly made sure it didn't."

Olivia sighed and brushed bangs out of her face.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she said quietly.

"Funny. Because that's exactly what you did."

"I was young. I didn't know how to handle it."

Fitz hung his head again and silence stretched out between them. He expected her to say something more, to explain herself after all the years apart. But she didn't.

"I don't want you here," he said.

"I know. But you can't hate me forever. It's been ten years."

"I know _exactly_ how long it's been," he spat.

Olivia sighed again, seemingly absorbing his venom.

"You don't want me here, I get it," she reiterated. "But if you want to become President, you do _need_ me here. I can turn this thing around. I can get you elected. If you don't want to have anything to do with me personally, that's fine. We'll keep it strictly business and I'll make it a point to never be in the room alone with you. Just...just let me do this."

His eyes locked with hers and as much as he hated it, he felt himself getting sucked into her again. She had always had that effect on him and it seemed that ten years apart had done nothing to lessen her power.

"Why?" he asked tiredly. "Why do you want to help me?"

"Because I believe in you. And I always have."

Her brown eyes were wide with hope that he would believe her, and rather than argue any further, he simply looked away in silent acceptance.

"I promise that I'll eat, breathe and live this campaign. I'll get you elected," she said quietly. When he still didn't speak or look at her, she turned to leave. But before she disappeared down the hall, she turned around again and said, "for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

Fitz clenched his jaw and despite his better judgment, he looked at her.

"I already have forgiven you, Olivia," he said. "I just haven't forgotten."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_September 1998_

Fitz's day started normally enough. Once he hit the snooze button five times, he rolled out of bed and started his morning routine: he took a shower, brushed his teeth and picked out some clothes for the day. He stood in his large walk-in closet, briefly agonizing over the decision of what to wear. He settled for some khakis, a polo shirt and loafers. After he was dressed, he went to the nursery down the hall and quietly knocked. When he poked his head inside, he spotted the nanny, Brenda, holding his newborn son.

"Hey," he whispered with a big smile.

Brenda smiled and waved him over. Fitz tiptoed inside and leaned down next to her so that he was eye-level with his sleeping son. Brenda was rocking the baby back and forth and Fitz placed a gentle hand on the little boy's back.

"Did he just eat?" he whispered.

"Yeah. Finished the whole bottle."

Fitz placed a soft kiss on Gerry's tiny hand and after a few minutes of awe-inspired observation, he tiptoed out of the room. He had a smile on his face as he headed downstairs to the kitchen, where his three-year-old daughter was sitting at her little Minnie Mouse table, eating pancakes.

"Hey, Daddy!" she said happily.

"Hello, princess," he said as he picked her up and scooped her into a big hug. Karen giggled and snuggled into his arms as he pulled open the fridge door and gazed at his options. He settled for orange juice and Karen giggled again when he drank it straight from the carton.

"Fitz, please get a glass," Mellie said in her annoyed tone as she strode into the kitchen. Her hair and makeup were already done for whatever thing she had scheduled for the day, and Fitz had to fight the irritation that bubbled up inside him. "And why aren't you wearing a suit? You look so much more professorial when you're wearing a suit."

"I don't want to wear a suit," he said dryly. "We have this conversation every day, Mel."

"Because every day, I wonder when you're going to start acting like a professor at Stanford Law School and stop acting like some hippie who just got off his surfboard."

Fitz rolled his eyes but smiled when Karen looked up at him with questioning eyes. He hated to fight in front of his kids, so he tickled his daughter and pretended to bite her nose. She laughed and seemed to forget about the tension between her parents.

"We need to start greasing the wheels if you want to run for Governor," Mellie continued.

Fitz placed Karen back in her seat and shook his head.

"I don't want to run for Governor."

"What are you talking about? It's in your blood, Fitz. You can deny it all you want and pretend to be happy teaching kids about the law, but you have bigger and better things to do."

Rather than stay and argue with Mellie, Fitz leaned down to kiss Karen's head and he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. He didn't say goodbye to his wife as he left, but he doubted she cared. They had never had a perfect marriage but lately it seemed worse than usual. Fitz got the feeling that Mellie felt she had completed her wifely duties by giving him two children, and now it was his turn to please her and get into politics.

He tried to shake the frustration as he got into his Audi and drove the pleasant fifteen-minute ride to Stanford Law School. The campus was noticeably more crowded than it had been over the past few weeks, and Fitz knew it was because it was the first day of classes for the second- and third-year students. He was excited about having the students back, too. As much as he liked teaching the first-year students, he really enjoyed the more advanced classes that were more thought-provoking and insightful.

He said hello to a few colleagues and students and headed straight to his 10:00 class, advanced constitutional law. He was a few minutes early but the twenty-person classroom was mostly full. He scanned the crowd briefly and noticed a couple of familiar faces from previous classes. The students talked quietly while he unpacked his bag and wrote his name on the whiteboard behind the desk in front. A few minutes after 10, he clasped his hands together and spoke up.

"All right, class, welcome to Advanced Constitutional Law," he said, and all other talking stopped. "My name is Fitzgerald Grant, III. I know that name is both long and pretentious, so if you want to call me something else, that's fine. I'll answer to Fitz, Mr. Grant, Professor Grant or any other variation that is not disrespectful or stupid."

There was a light smattering of laughter and Fitz smiled.

"So, like I said, this is Advanced Constitutional Law. I know you all took basic con law when you were one Ls, and I can promise you that this class is far more interesting than that. We won't be talking about boring laws that date back to the 18th century. We'll be talking about the juicy stuff: race, equality, due process, women's rights, gay rights, all the fun stuff. As you probably noticed, this is a fairly small class and I want us to have serious and open conversations. If you're not comfortable with speaking your mind, get comfortable with it."

He looked around to gauge whether the students were still with him, and when he saw a few head nods, he continued.

"All right, a few things you need to know about this class. Participation counts as 20% of your grade. We won't have a final exam but you will have a final paper that is 40% of your grade. Attendance counts for another 20%, and the final 20% will come from an individual meeting with me."

Fitz pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to the student at the left end of the front row.

"I'm passing around a sheet now for you to sign up for a time to meet with me. I require this of my students because I would like the chance to get to know you all. You may think this is silly, but trust me, when you start applying for jobs at all the fancy firms and you need a good reference from a teacher, you'll be happy you got to know me. All you have to do is show up and talk to me for fifteen minutes or so. It'll be the easiest 20% of a grade you ever earned. Sound good?"

A few people said 'yes' and he nodded.

"Good. Glad we're all on board. We'll be having a lot of intimate and potentially controversial discussions in here, so I'd like for you all to at least know each other's names. So we're going to go around the room, you'll say your name, what year you are, where you're from and something interesting about you. It can be your favorite food, favorite TV show, favorite movie, whatever." He looked to the same person that he'd passed the sign-up sheet to and nodded for him to start.

As he expected, the students participated well. He'd long since discovered that kids were so happy to get out of traditional, Socratic-based classes that they were more than happy to share a little about themselves. Fitz nodded and listened to everyone who spoke, sometimes asking follow-up questions if he sensed that a particular student was shy.

As one girl was speaking, Fitz's eyes roamed down the rest of the row, just to see how many more people there were. His gaze fell on a young woman in the last seat in the second-to-last row. She wore a soft yellow sundress that not only made her stand out in the crowd, but that complimented her brown skin wonderfully. She had big expressive eyes that were trained on him and for a brief second, Fitz felt like she was looking right through him. He took brief note of her full lips and high cheekbones, then looked away for fear that he might be staring too long. But he found himself anxiously waiting to hear what she had to say.

"My name is Jill," the girl next to the pretty yellow sundress girl said, "I'm a 3L, thank God." Several people, including Fitz, laughed. "I'm from Atlanta and something interesting about me is that I've been to every state in the country. And I didn't just fly into a place and count that as a visit, either. I've actually been in each state for some meaningful amount of time."

"And your favorite state?" Fitz asked.

Jill nodded her head back and forth and smiled. "California is pretty high on my list."

"Good answer. You get extra credit."

Again, some students laughed. Fitz very nearly wanted to ask her another question, just because he was nervous for the sundress girl to be next. But he knew he couldn't stall forever, so his eyes once again fell on the girl in yellow, whose full lips had curved into the slightest hint of a smile.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Olivia Pope," she answered in a voice that sounded like satin.

"Ms. Pope, what year are you?"

"Third-year."

"And are you happy about that?"

Olivia's smile widened and she nodded. "Of course."

Fitz found himself smiling in reaction to her. "Where are you from?"

"The Bronx."

Another kid in the class whooped and everyone laughed. Fitz's eyes hadn't left Olivia's face and although he realized he was more engaged in her than he had been with anyone else, he didn't want to stop talking to her.

"The Bronx, huh?" he asked. "I don't hear an accent."

"Trust me, I've worked very hard to get rid of it."

"Mm hm. Well, tell us something interesting about you."

She did this demure little shrug that nearly made Fitz swoon. "I'm not sure there is anything interesting about me. I'm pretty average."

"Oh, I doubt that," he said before he could stop himself. He recovered by adding, "I mean, everyone has something interesting about them."

"I know something," Jill spoke up. "Liv's my roommate so I know plenty of dirt."

Fitz chuckled when Olivia nudged the other girl, but he encouraged Jill by saying, "please share."

"She is a TV junkie and has every season of 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' and can quote most of the episodes by heart."

"Is this true, Ms. Pope?" Fitz asked. She looked slightly embarrassed as she nodded. "Thank you for sharing, Jill. I hope you all are taking notes. Jill has just about filled her quota for participation."

They finally moved on from Olivia and finished the rest of the students, but Fitz's mind kept wondering back to her. He had no idea how or why she interested him so much. He had seen plenty of pretty girls and had many of them as students, yet none of them had affected him the way she had. He chalked it up to a little crush: harmless and innocent and as long as he didn't touch, there was nothing wrong with it.

Still, when class ended and Fitz collected the sign-up sheet, his eyes zeroed in on the time and date that Olivia Pope had signed up for. He was already looking forward to it, and maybe for once, he was going to take Mellie up on her request to wear a suit.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Once her classes for the day were finished, Olivia went back to her apartment and spent a few hours unpacking and putting up all her clothes. She spread her favorite blanket across her bed and rested against the pillows while she caught up on reading that she had to do for the next day. When Jill got home, the two girls huddled in the living room around a box of their favorite pizza and some red wine.

"I'm so excited to see you again, Liv," Jill said with a big smile. "I missed you over the summer."

"I missed you too."

"Tell me all about your internship in New York."

Olivia picked up a slice of pizza and held it high above her face so she could gobble up all the runny cheese. "Well, I barely slept, worked 16 hours a day and lived on Chinese food. It was fabulous." They both chuckled. "And the firm footed the bill for all these fantastic shows and plays and museum visits. It was probably the best three months of my life."

"Any hot guys?"

"I saw a few but I didn't really have time for guys, you know?"

"Mm hm." Jill slowly chewed her slice and hesitated in asking her next question. "How was it being back home?"

"Weird," Liv said after some thought. And they left it at that. "What about you? How was your summer?"

"Oh my God, it was great! I loved working at the public defender's office. I think it's my calling, and the boss told me she'd save a spot for me when I graduate."

"Nice...so you think you're going to stay in California?"

"Yeah," Jill said with a smile, "I think I could get used to the laidback, sunny lifestyle. You?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure California is fast enough for me."

They went through the entire box of pizza and two bottles of wine before Liv rested on the couch and rubbed her stuffed stomach.

"Wow, we ate like pigs."

"That's the only way to eat, baby. And I don't have class tomorrow, so I can sleep off my food coma all day."

"I'm so jealous. I have Corporations at eight," she groaned.

"Gross. What were thinking signing up for a class that early?"

"Well, I thought I was only going to have to take three classes because I was going to use up the rest of my hours doing an independent project. Professor Jackson had already told me she'd sponsor it, but now she's out on maternity leave."

"So get another professor."

"I don't know anybody else well enough."

"You could ask _Fitz_," Jill said with a dreamy sigh.

Olivia rolled her yes. "Oh my God. Please tell me you are not actually going to call him that."

"What? Why not? He said we could."

"Because it's completely inappropriate and unprofessional, that's why."

"Please. I wouldn't mind being inappropriate and unprofessional with him."

Liv tossed her head back and laughed. "He's married, you slut."

"Yeah, I saw his ring but a girl can imagine." Jill narrowed her eyes at Liv and said, "and don't act like you don't think he's smoking hot."

"He is _not_ smoking hot." Jill gave her a disbelieving face. "He's...handsome. In a rich, country club boy kind of way."

"Whatever. He's fine. And he was looking at you like you were the chocolate sauce to his vanilla ice cream."

Again, Liv threw her head back in laughter. "You are crazy. I forgot how insane you were."

"Say what you want but he's fine and he likes you. I bet if you asked him to supervise you, he'd be all for it."

"I don't know..."

"It's an easy question, Liv. Would you rather be going to class at 8:00 twice a week, or spending more personal time with _Fitz_?"

Olivia threw a pillow at Jill's head and Jill chuckled.

"I'm going to bed," she said.

Olivia volunteered to clean up and once Jill was in her own room, Liv allowed her mind to wander back to Professor Grant. He was indeed very good-looking and he had an ease and charm about him that was incredibly attractive. She already knew that his class was going to be her favorite because, aside from the handsome teacher, the subject matter interested her.

As she put their plates and glasses in the dishwasher, she thought about Jill saying that Professor Grant had been flirting with her. Although she would never admit it aloud, somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she had kind of felt like he had spent more time talking to her than to the other students. Still, she rationalized that by telling herself that she had been hesitant to offer details about herself and he was simply trying to get her to open up. He was just being nice, she decided. Nothing wrong with that.

...

The following Monday, Olivia walked towards Professor Grant's class. Just as it had every day since the first class, her heart fluttered a little bit at the thought of seeing him. She knew, of course, that her nervousness was irrational and she blamed Jill for the minor crush that she had developed on her teacher. She was deep in thought about the whole crush situation as she reached for the classroom door.

"Allow me," a voice said behind her. And when she turned around, it was _Fitz_. He was smiling at her and his curly brown hair was slicked back as usual. He was wore a dark blue sweater and gray pants and he was just close enough for her to catch a whiff of his scent, which was probably best described as "delicious."

"Thank you," she managed to say.

"We're having our meeting today, right?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Yes. Right after class."

"Great. I'm looking forward to it."

He smiled and she nearly melted into the floor. She nodded and scurried to her seat, wondering how on earth she had been reduced to such a mess just because he smiled at her.

Throughout class, Olivia's eyes kept gazing at the clock, counting down the minutes in both anticipation and anxiety. Once the hands landed on 10:50, Fitz dismissed class and gave them their next reading assignment, which Olivia knew she would have to get from Jill because she had barely been able to pay attention. She slid her books into her bag, hoping to take her time and get herself together before her private meeting with the teacher. When she looked up again, though, she saw that Fitz was waiting on her, a gesture that both pleased and scared her.

"Ms. Pope," he said pleasantly as she finally came from her hiding place in the back of the room. "I hope you don't mind my waiting on you. I thought we could walk to my office together."

"No, I don't mind," she said in a voice that was so steady, it surprised her. "It's very gentlemanly."

Fitz laughed and Olivia decided that even his laugh was attractive.

"Well I may have many flaws but rudeness is not one of them." He held the door open for her and they walked down the hall and out of the building together. Olivia wasn't sure what to say as they made the short walk to the administrative building where the teachers' offices were, but Fitz didn't force her into conversation. He opened all the doors for he again, until they were in his personal office. The walls were a warm neutral color and there were large bookcases on each wall. He took a seat behind a big wooden desk and he gestured for her to sit on the couch across from him.

"So, like I said in class, this is just an opportunity for me to get to know you a little better," he started. "You never know when you might need a good recommendation or something like that. Even just a sympathetic ear. I've been told I'm a pretty good listener."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Tell me about yourself."

Olivia relaxed a little on the couch, finally relinquishing her bag next to her.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything you'd like to tell me."

She smiled and shrugged. "That's very vague."

"Okay, I see that I'll have to be specific with you, huh?" he asked like he was amused. "All right. I already know you're from New York. Any brothers or sisters?"

"No."

"What do your parents do?"

"I don't have parents."

His face fell and she felt bad when guilt came over his features. "Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't. You couldn't have known that." An awkward silence came over them and Olivia felt the need to fill the gap, but she didn't know what to say. So Fitz swooped in and spoke again.

"Why law school?" he asked. "What brought you into this profession?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I've always been something of a political junkie and I guess I figured that law was the practical segue into politics."

"You want to be a politician?"

"No."

Fitz first looked confused by her answer, then he smiled and scooted closer to place his hands on his desk. "Okay," he said slowly. "Then what kind of political job do you want? Something behind the scenes? Like being a lobbyist?"

"Behind the scenes, yes. Lobbyist, no." She tried to think about she could articulate what her career goals were but they weren't very well-defined, even in her own mind. "I'm sorry, I'm not being purposely weird, I just don't really know the answer to the question."

"That's okay," he chuckled. "Politics is a big world. I'm sure you'll find your place somewhere." She nodded and waited for his next round of questions. "So, are you married? Single? Any kids?"

"Single. No kids."

Fitz eyed her for a moment, then smiled. "Ms. Pope, I'm getting the distinct feeling that it takes you a while to open up. Is that a fair assessment?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult."

"It's okay. No need to apologize. I won't torture you any longer. Thank you for trying."

He didn't say it explicitly but she knew that he was dismissing her, and again she felt guilty. She certainly didn't want him to think that talking to him was torture, but she just wasn't the tell-all type of girl, especially with someone she didn't know very well. She started to gather her things to leave, when an idea struck her.

"Actually, there is something else," she said. "I have kind of a favor to ask."

"Okay. Shoot."

"I wanted to do an independent research project this semester but I need a professor to sponsor me and supervise my work. Professor Jackson had promised to do it, but now she's on maternity leave and I'm not sure who else to ask."

"What's the research?"

"It's about crisis management in politics."

Fitz folded his hands underneath his chin. "Sounds interesting. Do you have particular subjects in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking of focusing primarily on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky since we're still in the storm of all that right now. But it would also include opinions about past scandals in the White House, how they were dealt with and how I think they _should_ have been dealt with. I know it's a lot to ask of you since my supervising professor would have to meet with me twice a week in addition to everything else you have going on, but I was really looking forward to this and I'd still like to do it, if possible."

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Well, considering that this is the most animated I've seen you all day and I'd hate to temper that enthusiasm, I'd love to supervise you, Ms. Pope." A genuine smile came across her face, which made him smile. "Just email me your schedule and we'll work out times that we can both be available to meet."

"Thank you so much, Professor Grant. I really appreciate this." She stood to leave and he joined her at the door. He held it open for her again and she smiled. "Hopefully, between our con law class and this project, you won't get too tired of seeing my face."

He looked at her and for the first time, she noticed the grayish-blue color of his eyes. She watched as his gaze fell to her lips, and her cheeks grew hot.

"There's very little danger of that happening," he promised in a low voice.

And it was right then and there that Olivia realized that Jill hadn't been exaggerating. He _was_ flirting with her. And damn it if she didn't like it.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Fitz had a Friday evening routine. After he finished up his last class at 3:00, he would go to the gym for a couple of hours and get in a good workout. Then, he would get home just as the nanny was leaving for the weekend. After a quick shower, he liked to spend some time with little Gerry, feeding him and rocking him to sleep. After Gerry was out for the count, Fitz would play with Karen. She loved for him to read to her and Fitz obliged her every request, even when she just wanted him to read the same book over and over. Although she would fight it, his daughter would eventually succumb to the sleep monster and Fitz would dutifully tuck her in, kiss her forehead, and leave the door open just a touch so some light would come in.

He fully intended to stick to his schedule, but when he pulled up to the house after his workout, he saw an unfamiliar car in his driveway. When he opened the front door, he heard voices coming from another room.

"Mel?" he called.

"In here, sweetie," she called back.

Fitz followed her voice to the kitchen, his eyebrow still raised over the fact that she had called him 'sweetie.' He couldn't remember the last time she'd done that. When he finally found where everyone was, he was pleasantly surprised to see none other than his good friend, Jake Ballard, perched on a bar stool and holding both Karen and Gerry.

"Fitz," Jake said happily. "You look good, old man."

Fitz smiled and greeted his friend with a pat on the back.

"You don't look so bad yourself. What are you doing in town?"

"I'm on a six-week break. I thought I'd swing by and see how you were doing. The kids are great, man," he said with a big smile. "Gerry looks just like you."

"Jake called last week and asked if it was okay for him to come by," Mellie interjected. "I didn't tell you because I figured you'd enjoy the surprise."

She had a big, fake smile on her face and Fitz quickly caught on that all the niceness was simply a byproduct of having a guest in the house. But he played along. They had been doing their song and dance for so long that he knew how to turn it on and off just like she did.

"Thanks," he said as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "That was very thoughtful of you."

"So come on," Jake said. "You've got a wife pass for the rest of the night. Let's go get some beers and play pool."

"Okay. Just let me take a shower and get changed."

He left Mellie, Jake and the kids in the kitchen while he went up to his master bathroom and locked the door behind him. He turned the water on and stripped down to nothing as the water heated up. Once it was just hot enough to relax and not scold, he stepped underneath the spray with his forehead pressed to the wall. He stood like that for several minutes, enjoying the feel of the water as it cascaded down his body. Mellie always complained that he took longer showers than a woman but the shower was where he did his deep thinking. It was where he came up with solutions to his problems.

At the moment, his biggest problem was his wife. He felt horrible to think it but he was actually worried about leaving her with the kids while he went out. The nanny didn't come in on the weekends and Fitz couldn't remember the last time Mellie had taken care of the kids all by herself. He wondered if she knew that Karen liked to have her back rubbed while she was being read to, or if she knew that Gerry usually burped twice before being put down for the night. A part of him panicked that he would come home to find his children alone while their mother was out getting her nails done.

As he pulled his head off the wall, he told himself that he would just have to trust that his wife would take care of their children. She may not have been very maternal, but she wasn't an idiot, either. With his mind somewhat at ease about that, he lathered his body up with his soap and his thoughts wondered to other things: his classes, an article he needed to finish by the end of the month, his students. And no matter how much he didn't want to, Fitz couldn't think about his students without thinking about one in particular.

Olivia Pope.

All week, he had been racking his brain to figure out why she affected him so much. Why he looked forward to getting to class early so he could watch her walk to her seat. Why he hoped she would volunteer to answer a question so he could hear her smooth, confident voice. Why he lingered after class and waited for the moment she would pass him and he could catch a whiff of her sweet scent.

It wasn't until that very moment, standing in the shower, covered in soap, that he realized the obvious answer: he was attracted to her. And he had the erection to prove it.

He groaned in frustration when he looked down and saw himself standing at attention for Olivia. It was disgusting and wrong for more reasons that he cared to list. As he grew harder with every thought of her, he absolutely refused to touch himself with his student on his mind. He knew that he couldn't help his physical reaction to her, but he could help the reaction to his own body. So he ignored it the best he could. He though unsexy thoughts about dirty clothes that needed to be washed, essays he would have to grade...

"Fitz," Mellie called through the door. She banged on it twice. "What are you doing in there? Jake has been waiting downstairs for thirty minutes. Hurry up."

And just like that, his problem was solved. Nothing like the sound of his wife's voice to deflate an erection.

He hurried through the rest of his shower and met Jake downstairs after he had settled into jeans and a polo shirt. Fitz said goodbye to the kids and Mellie promised to take good care of them, although he had a feeling that she was going to call the nanny once he was out of the house. Still, he tried not to worry about it as he followed Jake to a flashy red convertible Mustang and slid into the passenger seat. Fitz directed him to a pool hall about fifteen minutes away and once they got there, Jake ordered a pitcher of beer. Fitz downed a few gulps before racking the balls on the table.

"So catch me up on your life, man," Jake said. "Tell me about your kids and your job and the whole nine."

"The kids are great. Karen is very smart and energetic. Gerry's still sleeping most of the time but from what I can see, he's a pretty laidback kid. My job is good, too. It's calm and predictable. And I like feeling like I'm making a difference."

"I still can't believe you're a teacher. I always thought you'd go into politics like your dad."

Fitz frowned and lined up his stick to break the balls. "You sound like Mellie." He hit the balls with some extra force and Jake raised an eyebrow.

"How is it going with Mellie, by the way?"

"We haven't divorced yet," he said dryly.

"Wow, what a pronouncement of love." Jake chuckled and aimed for a shot. "So it's not any better, huh?"

"Not really. Mellie is who she is. I shouldn't have expected her to change."

"How long are you going to go through with this? I mean, I thought the whole point of you two getting together was for political gain. If you're not going into politics, why suffer through a marriage you didn't want?"

Fitz sighed and leaned against his stick. "I don't know. I guess I'm too scared to leave her and find out that there's nothing better out there."

"Look, Fitz, I don't think I've ever been accused of being overly romantic, but I'm sure there are better relationships out there than the one you have with Mellie."

"Yeah, well...maybe I missed out on that."

Jake stood up straight and frowned. "Dude, I thought we were out here to have fun. You're depressing me."

Fitz apologized and they made a promise to nix all the Mellie talk for the rest of the evening. Instead, they talked about Jake's life, including his plans post-Navy. After several rounds of pool and more than a few pitchers of beer, Fitz was feeling happier and more relaxed than he had in months. As the night wore on, the pool hall began to fill up until it was packed from wall to wall.

"You know what? Why don't we call it a night?" Fitz asked. "Some kids are waiting to get a table and we've been playing for a while."

"Okay," Jake said with some hesitation, "but the night is young and unless you're ready to go back home to Mellie, we need to find something else to do."

Fitz held up his hands in surrender and they relinquished the table. Jake paid the tab for the beers and they stumbled out of the pool hall and into the comfortable night air. As soon as they were outside, they both heard the loud thumping of music coming from a club across the street. People were filing into the place and every time the door opened, the clear sound of Caribbean music flowed out into the streets.

"Wanna go in there?" Jake asked.

"I think we might be a bit old to be clubbing, don't you?"

"Oh, come on. Live a little. Let's see what it looks like. Give it thirty minutes and it if sucks, we'll leave."

Normally, Fitz would have put up more of a fight. But he was still drunk from all the beers, so he nodded his head and followed Jake across the street. They showed their IDs at the front door and once they were inside, Fitz was surprised by how big the space was. There was a huge bar running along the entire left side of the building and there were several tables and sitting areas set up. The biggest part of the building, though, was definitely the dance floor, which was filled almost to capacity with gyrating bodies. They found a couple of empty barstools and Fitz ordered another beer.

They didn't really speak as they people-watched. Fitz noticed that most of the people there looked young and were probably college or graduate school students. He sipped his beer and watched them dance and he cracked a smile as he remembered his carefree college days. He briefly wondered what his life would have been like if he had made some different choices after college, but his reverie was interrupted when he heard a voice that sounded familiar. He looked to his right, past a couple of people, until his eyes landed on a familiar person.

Olivia Pope.

She was a little ways down at the bar, ordering a drink from the bartender who seemed to be eyeing her up and down. The bartender leaned in to her and said something, but Olivia only smiled politely, shook her head and took her drink. As she walked back to the dance floor, Fitz's eyes zeroed in on the fact that she was wearing a very tight, very short skirt: one that revealed long, slim legs. He couldn't help but crane his neck to watch where she was going, and he followed her movements until she was in a little group of women that included Jill and two girls that Fitz didn't recognize. Olivia took a dainty sip of her pink drink and said something to her friends that made them all laugh. Fitz assumed she was making fun of whatever lame pick-up line the bartender had laid on her and he couldn't help but be a little happy that she wasn't one of those girls that fell for every compliment.

The DJ switched songs to something more fast-paced and apparently very popular because almost everyone in the building began to dance as soon as it began to play. Olivia, too, was swaying her hips and at the encouragement of her friends, she gulped down the rest of her drink and danced with them in earnest. Fitz was nothing short of mesmerized as she moved her hips and legs like she didn't have bones in them, shaking her body to the exact timing of the song. Some guy came up behind her and she accepted his hands on her hips while she continued her motions. She backed her body into him and tossed her head back, smiling like she didn't have a care in the world.

Fitz tried to quell the completely irrational sense of jealousy he felt as she danced with the guy and let herself go. He wanted to stop looking at her, but he couldn't. And before he could pull his gaze away, it was too late.

"Hey, who are you staring at so hard?" Jake yelled over the music.

Fitz snapped his head to his friend and shrugged. "What? Nobody. I was just watching."

"Yeah right. You were looking at someone." Jake scooted close to Fitz and made a show of trying to follow his line of vision. When he spotted Olivia, he smiled. "Oh, the one in the skirt? She's cute. You should ask her to dance."

"No, I don't think so."

"Well if you don't, I will."

Fitz scoffed. "You can't dance. At all."

"So? I'm drunk. I can do anything!"

He patted Fitz on the back and started his march to the dance floor. Fitz watched, partly amused and partly nervous, as Jake tapped Olivia's dancing partner on the shoulder and said something. The guy shrugged and backed away and Olivia gave Jake a questioning look. He leaned down to her and Fitz couldn't make out what was being said, but Olivia threw her head back and laughed. She nodded and took Jake's hands and placed them on her hips. She turned around again so that her butt was rubbing against his crotch, and Jake turned to Fitz and gave him the thumbs up.

Fitz didn't return the gesture.

He looked on as Olivia tried her best to work some rhythm into Jake's uncoordinated body. If he wasn't so jealous, it would have been funny. He tipped his glass back and swallowed the remainder of his beer, realizing that he probably needed to be a little more drunk. When he looked to dance floor again, he saw Jake saying something in Olivia's ear and pointing in the direction of the bar. Olivia's gaze followed Jake's hand and Fitz's heart nearly stopped when she finally caught sight of him. The carefree smile from earlier faded just a little and once she seemed to get over the shock of seeing him in a club, she nodded her head once in acknowledgement of his presence. Fitz tipped his glass in response.

She turned back to Jake and again tried to help him with his dance moves, to no avail. After a few songs, the DJ switched to something much slower, something that even a guy as rhythmically-challenged as Jake couldn't mess up. Jake basically just stood there while Olivia rotated her backside into him. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She moved with so little effort and as much as Fitz tried to block it out, he very briefly wondered if that was what she was like in bed: carefree and fluid. Something told him that she was an intense and passionate lover, the kind to leave bite marks and scratches and dirty notes on his pillow.

The thought made him shudder.

And it also snapped some sense into him. Having a crush was one thing. But openly ogling and fantasizing about his student was too much, even in his own head. So he turned to the bartender and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. He gathered himself to go outside, where he figured he would get some fresh air and sober up. Against his better judgment, he cast one last glance in Olivia's direction, only to see her staring at him.

Her eyes locked with his as she very slowly and torturously ground her butt into Jake's unsuspecting body. Even from far away, Fitz could see the intensity in her eyes and he was momentarily paralyzed. He felt as though he was under her spell, and she hadn't said a word or touched him at all.

Then, she looked away and the moment was over. Fitz almost wondered if he had imagined the whole exchange, but the feeling of guilty arousal coursing through his body told him that it was real. Whatever "it" was between them, Olivia obviously felt it, too.

And _it_ was definitely going to get him into trouble.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After classes on Monday, Fitz packed up his things and headed to the gym. He didn't have a set workout schedule, though he tried to at least go three times a week to keep his body in good shape. He didn't usually make the effort on Mondays, but he had been feeling a nervous energy ever since his Con Law class. Ever since seeing Olivia Pope for the first time since the dance club incident.

She'd walked in while he was writing something on the white board, but her sweet scent drew his attention away from the task at hand. He watched her walk up the steps to her seat, and his eyes rested on her perfectly-shaped behind. She was wearing jeans and a cream-colored sweater that flattered her in every way. He couldn't even look away after she was seated and her eyes met his. He briefly wondered if she even remembered looking at him while she danced on his friend, but he knew she did when a bashful expression came over her features.

And if it was possible, he was found himself even more attracted to her. He wasn't sure which side of her he liked better: the bold seductress or the shy schoolgirl. Both were incredibly sexy.

With that on his mind all day, Fitz knew he needed a distraction. Once he got to the gym, he changed into a muscle shirt and some basketball shorts and hit the weights. He went through his routine: chest, back, stomach, then arms. He had worked up a good sweat when he finally took a break and stepped away from the machines. He leaned against the large glass wall that showcased many other parts of the gym. Right next to the weight room was an Olympic-sized swimming pool that was empty except for a few people spread out among the lanes. Fitz eyed them quickly and almost turned around until the swimmer closest to him popped up and removed her goggles.

Damn it if it wasn't Olivia Pope.

Fitz didn't know how could have gone two years without seeing her at all to now seeing her every time he went somewhere, but he wasn't really complaining. Especially not when she pulled herself out of the pool and revealed her body in a black bikini. Because her back was to him, he got a great view of her butt for the second time that day, only this time he could see just the slightest hint of the bottoms of her cheeks that couldn't be contained by her swimsuit. She bent over to pick up a towel and when she turned around, he saw the rest of the package: toned legs, a flat stomach and full breasts.

He watched, entranced, as she dried herself off and slipped her dainty feet into some flip flops, then walked out of the pool area. But he still stood there, like an idiot, trying not to drool on himself. When he finally got his wits about him, he returned to the weight machines, only to find that he had absolutely no focus or interest in working out anymore.

So he went to the locker room, where he changed into swim trunks and showered off all the sweat and grime. He tossed a towel over his shoulder and headed to the whirlpools because the jetted hot water was always nice on his tired muscles. The gym had four four-person whirlpools and all of them except one were completely empty. And the one that was occupied was occupied by Olivia. Fitz knew he should have just ignored her and walked to an empty one, but his feet were moving before his mind could think. When he reached her whirlpool, he noticed that her head was resting against the edge of the pool and her eyes were closed. Her hair was wet and much curlier than he'd ever seen it.

"Room for one more?" he asked.

At the sound of his voice, her eyes jerked open and for the second time that day, she looked almost embarrassed to see him. When she didn't answer, he slid one foot into the hot water, then another. He made sure to stay on the opposite end of the Jacuzzi as his entire body sank into the heat. If he wasn't imagining things, it looked like Olivia was checking him out. He was fairly sure that her eyes had taken in his bare chest and arms, and he was quietly thankful that his muscles were still pumped up from the lifting.

"You work out, Professor Grant?" she asked quietly.

"I do. Do you swim, Ms. Pope?"

"Almost every day."

"You're very graceful," he said. She raised an eyebrow in question. "I saw you swimming. The weight room is right next door."

"Oh."

"So I guess that's two new things I know about you: you're a great swimmer and an even better dancer."

Olivia's cheeks flushed when he brought up the dancing and he had to fight the smirk that threatened his lips.

"I'm not that good at dancing," she said. "Your friend just really sucked."

Fitz laughed and nodded in agreement. "Well, that's true. I'm afraid he's a stereotypical white boy when it comes to dancing."

"And what about you? Can you dance?"

"I've never had any complaints."

Fitz knew as soon as the words left his mouth that was a sexual connotation to what he'd just said. And Olivia had obviously picked up on it because her brown eyes darkened and she sank down until her lips were in the water. They stared at each other for several long seconds and he contemplated just getting out and leaving, until she spoke again.

"Are we still meeting tomorrow? For my project?"

"Yes. Tomorrow at 3. I was thinking maybe we could discuss it over Starbuck's. I usually need an energy shot at the end of the day."

A look of relief came over, as if she was happy that they wouldn't have to be alone in a closed room together. "That sounds great."

"Good."

Fitz wasn't sure what else to say, so they sat silently as the room began to fill with more people. A group of three girls walked in and made their way over to the Fitz's whirlpool. He slid aside to make room, and once all three of them were inside, the space was fairly cramped. Fitz slid over again, until he was practically pressed against Olivia. He could feel her smooth legs against him and when he looked at her, her cheeks were slightly flushed. He didn't know if it was because of him or the water, but he guessed it was the former.

They sat together like that for several minutes, pretending to listen to the other girls' mindless chatter. Olivia finally moved and excused herself, bidding Fitz good night. He had to make himself not watch her as she climbed out and once she was out of eye sight, he too got out. He was in a fog all the way home, wondering whether he was making Olivia uncomfortable or whether she was as attracted to him as he was to her. Somehow, he knew she was.

He tried to put her out of his mind as he spent time with his kids. But he was still thinking about her when he went to bed. He felt guilty because his wife was sleeping right next to him while he had an erection for another woman. So he tried to rectify to the situation. He scooted over to Mellie and wrapped her up in his arms. She made a sound of surprise but settled into his arms. She went frigid, though, when he started kissing her neck.

"Fitz, what are you doing?" she whispered.

"Trying to kiss you."

"It's late. And I'm tired."

"I'll do all the work," he said, continuing his kisses. But then she moved away.

"I'm not in the mood."

Fitz threw his head back and groaned.

"Mellie, please. You're never in the mood. We haven't had sex in months. I need this."

She was quiet for a minute, and he thought maybe she would realize that they hadn't been intimate in a very long time and he really did need some of her attention. But she just sighed and said, "maybe tomorrow." She rolled further away and Fitz stared at her in the darkness, wondering how things that gotten so bad. Their marriage had never been perfect but lately it felt nearly intolerable.

So he turned on his side, away from her, and went to sleep with Olivia on his mind.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Olivia rarely became nervous. But as she stood outside the Starbuck's coffeehouse and watched Professor Grant casually sip a cup of coffee and read a newspaper, butterflies formed in her stomach. Ever since the club incident, followed by the hot tub incident, she had barely been able to keep him off of her mind. She had never been one for silly crushes, but it was something about his easy confidence and wavy hair and laid-back attitude that just called to her like a moth to a flame. It certainly didn't help that he was clearly as interested in her as she was in him.

Still, she knew she had to remain professional and maintain a healthy relationship with him. So she pushed aside her jittery nerves and pulled open the glass door. She had barely made it inside before he noticed her, and the smile he sent her way nearly turned her knees to jelly.

"Ms. Pope," he said cheerily. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Of course," she said with a small smile. "I hope you weren't waiting too long."

"Not at all. I was just enjoying this outrageously expensive coffee," he joked. Then he looked concerned. "Do you like coffee? I would have gotten you one but I wasn't sure."

"It's fine, but thank you. I'm more of a tea girl."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She sat down and there were a few short awkward seconds of silence, before he filled them with talk about her project.

"So I was thinking, there aren't any hard and fast rules about how you do your project, but it might be best for you to write a paper. You seem really passionate about the topic and if you write it down, you might be able to flesh out some of your ideas into a concise thesis. And it'll probably make for a great writing sample when you're applying to jobs. How does that sound?"

"Great," Olivia said, genuinely relieved. When he looked confused, she added, "one of my friends did a final project and her supervising professor made her do this big, complicated oral report. It seemed like a nightmare."

"Oh, well don't worry about that," Fitz said with a wave of his hand. "I wouldn't make you do oral."

As soon as he said it, his entire face turned red and Olivia's face flushed. She couldn't recall a time before meeting Fitzgerald Grant that she had ever blushed. And since meeting him, it was a regular occurrence.

"I mean..." he started. But he never finished. And he made the situation a million times worse when his eyes flickered to her lips and she just _knew_ that he was thinking about her...and oral...in a very non-academic setting.

"I'm gonna run to the restroom," she said, and excused herself before he could say anything else. She scurried to the ladies' room and slammed herself into a stall. She had no idea what was going on, other than that it seemed she couldn't even be in a public place without some kind of sexual tension with her teacher. It was horrible...and yet completely arousing. Olivia shook her head in disgust at how turned on she got from the hungry look in his eyes. For a brief, ridiculous moment, she entertained the idea of going down on him. And when a surge of wetness formed between her legs, she chided herself.

"Okay, stop this," she said in a low whisper. "You are Olivia Pope. You don't do these kind of stupid things. This is just a crush. That's it. If he does something like this again, you will turn him in for sexual harassment."

She nodded in agreement with herself and then left the stall. She stopped by the mirror, making sure she didn't look as flustered as she felt, and walked out of the bathroom like nothing was wrong. When she returned to the table with Fitz, he wore a sheepish smile and offered her a steaming cup.

"Tea," he said. "Please accept my deepest apology. I did not mean that how it came out."

"It's okay, Professor Grant," she said, purposely using his whole title lest either one of them forgot their relationship. "Slip of the tongue. These things happen." She took the tea and smiled politely. "Thank you."

He gestured for her to have a seat and after a short pause, she did so.

"So, anyway," Fitz said, "we actually don't have much time for you to do this paper and I'm sure you have other classes to worry about. I thought maybe we could work out a schedule for you and that way, it doesn't all creep up on you at once." Olivia nodded and took a sip of her tea, which turned out to be some kind of apple caramel deliciousness.

"I was thinking that when we meet this Friday, you could bring a rough outline of your ideas for the paper," he said. "And I mean really rough. Doesn't have to be bulleted or in complete sentences, just a sketch of what you're thinking about. Then we'll refine it every week until you have really solid foundation. Do you think that will work for you?"

"Yes, that sounds great," she assured him. He nodded but she could tell from the look on his face that he was still worried about his earlier mishap, so she threw him a bone. "Thank you for the tea. It's wonderful. And thank you so much for agreeing to supervise this project for me."

"It's not a problem," he promised. "I love helping students and I'm glad I can be here to help you."

They both nodded and again, silence fell over them. Olivia sipped some more of her tea and was thinking of ways to excuse herself when he spoke again.

"So I think that about covers it for this session. We'll have more to talk about after you do your outline."

"Okay, great. So I'll see you Friday." She started to stand, then looked back at him and corrected herself. "Well, I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow and then again, privately, on Friday."

As soon as the word "privately" left her mouth, she wanted to smack her head. First oral, then privately. Clearly, they shouldn't have been allowed to be in the same room. She was about to apologize but Fitz spoke first.

"You like football?" he asked.

Her apology died on her lips and was replaced by confusion.

"Uh...not really?"

"I'm asking because my wife and I host a get-together at my house every year for one of the college games and I invite all my con law students. We're going to do it next weekend, before it gets too cold out, and I was going to make the announcement to the whole class tomorrow, but since you're here now, I thought I'd ask."

"Oh. Well, um...yeah I guess I could come to that."

"It's no pressure," he said immediately. "It's not like it'll affect your grade or anything. It's just a tradition at this point, something for people to get together outside of class. And you can bring anyone you want. A friend, a boyfriend, whatever."

Olivia almost smiled at his pathetic and thinly-veiled attempt to ask if she had a boyfriend.

"Ok. I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask."

She nodded and tipped her cup at him. "See you tomorrow, Professor."

"See ya then, Ms. Pope."

...

The Saturday morning of Fitz's party, Olivia stood in front of her closet and agonized over what to wear. She always wanted to look good and be presentable, but there was an undeniable part of her that wanted to be extra cute for Fitz, even though she knew it was wrong. She finally decided on a pair of jeans that hugged her shape just right and a blouse that was somewhat formal but would be dressed down by the jeans. She accessorized with jewelry and cute sandals and spent an inordinate amount of time getting her side bangs just right.

And all that prepping came at a price. Jill had teased her all the way to Fitz's house about why she was looking so nice when everyone else would be in hoodies and T-shirts.

The chatter finally stopped when they pulled up to the house, which was much less of a house and much more of a mansion. There seemed to be acres of manicured grass and the house itself looked like it belonged to a billionaire, not a law professor.

"Whoa," Jill said as she slowly parked. "You didn't tell me your boyfriend was loaded."

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend. And secondly, I didn't know he was rich. Although I guess I should have. He looks like a prep school boy and his dad _is_ a former senator and governor. You know politicians always have money."

"Daaamn, girl, you better get on that. I bet if you were his side piece, he'd hook you up with a nice place. And maybe even a car."

Olivia shot her a look and gathered the bottle of wine she had brought. Fitz had insisted to all the students that they didn't need to bring anything, but she wanted to. She and Jill walked to the front door together and rang the doorbell. Within seconds, a woman opened the door, bearing a perfectly flawless white smile on a perfectly flawless face. She was nothing short of beautiful, and one word popped into Olivia's mind: coiffed. The woman was the definition of coiffed.

"Hello, hello," she sang. "You must be some of Fitz's students. Please come in."

The woman, who Olivia assumed was Fitz's wife, ushered them inside. They breezed through the foyer and into the kitchen and living room space, which looked like something out of an interior design magazine.

"You brought wine, how sweet," she said with that same practiced smile. "Here, let me take that from you. Fitz and everyone else are outside."

She gestured for them to go out and Olivia led the way to the backyard, which was a huge, lush green space. She saw classmates scattered about, eating and talking. There was a portable TV set up against the wooden fence, where a few guys were huddled around and yelping about football. Olivia scanned the crowd until her eyes fell on a sight that almost made her heart stop: Fitz, grilling burgers and hotdogs, wearing jeans and flip flops and a shirt that was just tight enough to remind her of the body she had seen in the hot tub, holding a beer and laughing it up with that guy she had been grinding with at the club. He looked so relaxed and happy and completely sexy, doing something as manly as grilling food and drinking beer.

"Hey, Professor Grant," Jill called, breaking Olivia out of her thoughts.

Fitz turned around and smiled briefly at Jill before settling his eyes on Olivia. It was quick, but she saw his eyes run down her body and back up again, where this time he smiled at her. She tried to get her mind right before she walked over to him.

"Ladies," he said casually. "I'm glad you could make it. I thought this was going to turn into an all guys' party."

"Well we couldn't let that happen, could we?" Jill smiled.

Fitz's friend jumped in and pointed at Olivia. "Hey! Aren't you the girl from the club?"

Olivia's cheeks burned but she nodded. "That would be me."

"Fitz, you didn't tell me she was your student," he said, nudging Fitz with his elbow.

"Would that have made a difference in how uncoordinated you are?"

A bubble of laughter escaped Olivia's mouth and whatever tension she had expected didn't show up. Something about having two barriers in Jill and his friend seemed to ease up on some of the tension that was always between them. The four of them talked for a while, until the coiffed woman appeared at Fitz's side and made a show of kissing his cheek. As suspected, she turned out to be his wife: Mellie. Olivia wasn't sure what kind of name that was, but it fit her.

Olivia eventually excused herself to talk to some of the other classmates but her gaze never strayed too far from Fitz. At one point, he held a little girl in one arm and a baby boy in the other and he alternated kissing them and making them laugh. As if he hadn't caused enough damage to her ovaries already, watching him play with his kids only made him more attractive.

So she tried to distract herself with wine. After finishing off one glass, as well as a perfectly-grilled hot dog, she let herself back into the house to pour another glass. The bottle she wanted was empty, so she fished around for the wine opener to break open another one.

"It's in the top left drawer," Fitz said.

His voice made her jump and when she turned around, she saw him at the other end of the long, granite countertop. He smiled just slightly and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"I'm glad you made it. I wasn't sure you would."

"Jill really wanted to come, so I figured I'd keep her company," she lied.

"I see. Well, I'll have to thank Jill for dragging you along."

Olivia returned to the drawers and pulled out the wine opener. She opened the new bottle, poured herself some, and then silently offered the bottle to Fitz.

"No thanks. I'm still running full on beer."

She took a few sips, then leaned against the counter. She had a feeling that Fitz wasn't going anywhere and unless she said something to diffuse the situation, she wasn't sure what would happen.

"Your wife is very pretty," she said.

"Yes, she is."

"And your kids are adorable."

"Thank you."

The talk about his family did absolutely nothing to quell the look in his eyes.

"And what about you?" he asked. "When do I get to meet your significant other?"

"What makes you think I have one?"

"It'd be hard for me to believe it if someone like you didn't have a boyfriend."

"Someone like me?"

"Smart. Beautiful." Again, her cheeks flushed. "I would think all the law school boys would be after you."

"Maybe they are and I just don't notice." She dared to look at him like he had been looking at her, then she added, "I've always preferred older men."

In that moment, she feared that he was actually going to leap across the counter, rip her clothes off and have his way with her. And she was worried by how much that thought appealed to her.

"Fitz, honey," Mellie said as she walked in from outside and broke their stare down. "We need a few more burgers on the grill."

He immediately looked away from Olivia and nodded obediently. "I'll be right out."

Mellie left without another word and when Fitz turned back to Olivia, she shook her head.

"I think it's about time for me to go."

He didn't argue with her but when she tried to pass him, he slid in front of her and blocked her way. He was close enough for her to smell his soap and the clean scent of his shirt. He looked down at her with a tortured expression on his face, like he wanted to do something that he knew he shouldn't. The longer he stared, the more Olivia feared that she wouldn't be able to turn him down if he did make a move.

And then, just as suddenly as he stepped in front of her, he moved away, albeit reluctantly. Olivia scooted past him and collected Jill. They said hurried goodbyes and when Jill asked what the rush was, Olivia made up some excuse about not feeling well and possibly getting her period. They were almost out the front door when she turned around one last time and caught eyes with Fitz. He nodded slightly, wordlessly telling her that she needed to go, for both their sakes.

So that was exactly what she did.


	7. Chapter 6

**Warning: Rating change to M. If you don't like dirty words or dirty deeds, you're in the wrong place.**

Chapter 6

It was rare rainy Friday afternoon, and the weather matched Fitz's mood. He had been irritated all day because of Mellie. The previous night, after hanging out with some of her uppity friends, she had come home on some tirade about why he was wasting her time as a professor and how he needed to put in his bid for governor if he ever wanted to make it in politics. It didn't help that she had gotten Big Gerry in on the act. As if dealing with Mellie wasn't bad enough, having to beat off his father really put Fitz over the top.

As he sat in his office, on the phone with his wife, it took everything in him not to hang up on her. He would have, but he knew that would only make the situation worse. To his relief, someone knocked on the door.

"What?" he called.

The door opened slowly and Olivia poked her head inside. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty and he immediately regretted yelling. He gestured for her to come in and have a seat.

"I mean it, Fitzgerald," Mellie droned on, "things have got to change."

"I have a student in my office so I'll have to call you back," he said dryly.

"Well your student can wait. We are having a conversation here and..."

"I'm busy."

And he hung up, despite the consequences. He ran a hand over his face and then offered Olivia a tired smile.

"Hi, sorry about that."

"Is this a bad time?" she asked softly.

"No, no. I'm sorry for screaming like that. I'm a little frustrated."

"Yeah, I noticed," she said, relaxing a bit in her seat. "You seemed kind of on edge in class today."

"I need to work on my poker face," he said with an apologetic smile. "But let's forget that and talk about your paper."

Fitz was more than happy to switch subjects to something calm, and he and Olivia spent the next hour going over ideas and potential changes in the direction of her paper. Every now and then, he caught himself staring at her lips as she talked and he had to remind himself to stay professional. So far, they had done an amazing job of not addressing what had happened at the cookout, and he didn't want to create another uncomfortable situation for her.

By the time four o'clock rolled around, the rain had gotten heavier and the thunder louder. A few lightning strikes illuminated the office and Fitz held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, as well as this is going, I think the weather is telling us that it's time to call it quits."

"I agree. This was helpful, though. I'll start working on those suggestions."

"Good. If you anything comes up, just shoot me a message."

"I will."

Fitz hopped up and held the door open for her as she gathered her things. She walked closer to him and he got a nose full of her sweet scent.

"Drive safely," he said.

She nodded and then slid past him, out into the hallway. He shook his head at himself and closed the door. He took about thirty minutes to finish up some other work before he finally shut off his computer and left for the day. He was digging through his bag for an umbrella and when he looked up again, he saw Olivia standing at the exit door.

"Ms. Pope?" he asked in confusion.

She turned around, looking distressed, and he noticed that her hair was a little damp and the bottoms of her pants were wet.

"Everything okay? What are you still doing here?"

"My car won't start," she groaned. "Of all days. I've been trying to get in touch with Jill but she's not answering, so it looks like I'm stuck here for a while."

"I can give you a ride," he offered.

Her eyes became wide again and she quickly looked down to avoid his gaze. "Um, well, I wouldn't want to make you go out of your way."

Fitz read between the lines and understood that she was nervous about being alone with him, and he knew her fear wasn't unfounded. But he couldn't just let her stand in the hallway until the rain stopped.

"I'm sure it's not out of my way," he promised. "It's no big deal. I want to help."

Olivia shifted from one foot to the other, then eyed the weather again, before nodding. She pulled her jacket over her head, and when Fitz couldn't find his umbrella, he did the same. He opened the door and ran out first, while she followed him. They got to his Toyota truck and he yanked the passenger door open for her before running to his side. When he finally got into the driver's seat, he tossed his drenched jacket into the backseat.

"Damn, it's really coming down," he said. He started up the truck and glanced at Olivia, who was taking in her surroundings with a look of surprise on her face. "What? You don't like my car?"

"No, I like it...it's just not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know. I guess after seeing your house, I expected something a bit more flashy."

Fitz smirked and pulled out of the parking lot. "_My family_ has money, not me. I'm just a regular guy who likes regular stuff."

"Hmm," Olivia responded.

And they didn't speak again, expect when she gave him directions. The rain was still pouring down when they pulled up to Olivia's apartment building. Fitz stopped the truck and they sat in a silence for a moment.

"This is me," she said softly. "Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome."

She started to open her door, and he did the same. When she gave him a confused look, he said, "I can't let you walk up there alone."

Their eyes locked for several tense seconds, and she nodded before letting herself out. Fitz hurried to join her and as soon as they tried to walk up the steps, a strong gust of wind came from the right side and knocked Olivia's jacket right out of her hands. She cursed and tried to pick it up, but she was getting drenched in the meantime. So Fitz tossed his jacket over her and pulled her jacket out of a puddle. He squinted as the rain pelted him and soaked through all his clothes, and he was surprised when Olivia grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the stairs with her. She fumbled with her keys for a minute before she finally got them inside to the dry warmth of her apartment.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," she said as she balled up his jacket and flicked on the light. Her eyes went from his face to his chest, which he knew he was on display thanks to his wet shirt. "You must be freezing."

"A little," he said with a small smile. "But I'll be okay."

"Can I at least dry that stuff for you? It might take thirty minutes or so but it's still raining pretty hard so maybe you could wait it out."

Fitz nearly told her not to worry about it, but she looked guilty and the idea of spending some time with her wasn't exactly repulsive. So he nodded and Olivia smiled in relief.

"I'm sure I have something you can put on in the meantime. Just wait here."

She scurried off, with both their jackets in hand, and disappeared down a hallway. Fitz looked around and took in her place. Hers was a pretty standard college apartment, but she had personalized it. There was a plush brown throw on the couch that he just knew smelled like her. Pictures of her, Jill and other people were scattered throughout the living room, as well as varying artwork that hung on the walls. He wanted to look around a little more, but Olivia reappeared from a room with some clothes in her arms.

"Okay, I think these will fit you," she said as she handed him a Princeton T-shirt and some Georgetown shorts. He gave her questioning look and she said, "past boyfriends."

"Seems like you're an Ivy League snob when it comes to men," he teased. "And a bit of a thief."

"Ha, ha. You can change in the bathroom and I'll throw your clothes in the dryer."

She directed him to the bathroom and he walked gingerly so he didn't get the carpet completely wet. He shut the bathroom door behind him and then peeled off his clothes, including his boxers and socks. He dug out a towel from the linen closet and wiped himself down before sliding on the basketball shorts, which were thankfully long enough to go past his knees. He pulled the shirt on and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. He slicked back his wet hair and wondered whether he should feel guiltier about how happy he was to be alone with Olivia.

Before he could over-think it too much, Fitz opened the door and searched for her. When he didn't find her in the living room, he ventured down the hallway and came to a slightly open door on the right. He raised his hand to knock, but as soon as his fist touched the wood, the door slid open a little more, and he froze in place at what he saw: a very naked Olivia Pope.

His mouth fell open and although he knew he should look away or at least let her know that he was there, he couldn't move. He was glued to his place as he watched her walk around her bedroom in search of clothes. Her wet garments had been discarded, along with all traces of underwear, and her hair was pulled into a messy bun atop her head. She pulled out a drawer and sifted through it, and Fitz got a great profile shot of her body, including perky breasts, a flat stomach, smooth legs that looked much longer than he remembered, and a curvy behind.

When she started to hum to herself, the noise broke him out of his staring and he finally backed away from the door until he was in the bathroom again. He closed the door and took a moment to replay the gorgeous image in his head. She was everything he had imagined and more, and his body obviously agreed. When he looked down at himself, he saw an erection that the basketball shorts did very little to hide. He started to panic, filling his mind with unsexy thoughts. But every time he tried to think of something else, he'd see Olivia again and his penis would jump in excitement.

"Hey, do you have those clothes?" Olivia called from the other side of the door. She knocked and he frantically began to move around, hoping that motion would soften his problem. When it didn't help, he grabbed the big pile of wet clothes and held them right in front of his crotch.

"Yeah, could you open the door?"

Olivia tentatively poked her head inside and he smiled like nothing was wrong.

"I can take those from you," she offered.

"No, that's okay. They're wet and heavy and I got it."

Even he knew his excuse was stupid but she shrugged and gestured for him to follow her. She led him back down the hallway, to a small closet where the washer and dryer were located. She set the time on the dryer but let him put them in, and once she walked away, Fitz took a deep breath and tried to talk himself out of his arousal.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Olivia called.

"No, that's okay. Thanks, though."

He stood at the dryer for about five minutes and sighed in relief when his problem deflated. He tossed the clothes in and closed the door, and when he met Olivia on the couch, she looked concerned.

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She looked like she wanted to ask more, but she didn't. He sat on the other end of the couch and Olivia handed him the remote.

"Since you're my guest, I'll let you pick what we watch."

He took the remote and flipped through the channels a few times, not really paying attention to what was on the screen. He settled for a sports talk show, then glanced at Olivia out of the corner of his eye. She had pulled a book out from under the throw and she sat with it in her lap, with her legs crossed. He took in how cute she looked, in some leggings and a Stanford hoodie, and he had to look away before he got excited again.

They sat in silence for several minutes, and every now and then, Fitz stole a look at her while she studiously read her book. As hard as he tried to avoid it, images of her naked body flashed through his head and before he could stop it, he was hard again. Panicked that Olivia might see, he tried to cross his legs, but that didn't work.

"You know what?" he spoke up. "I think I would like a drink now."

She looked up and smiled. "Okay, sure. What kind? I think we have water, wine, some Coke, juice..."

"Water's fine. Thank you."

He tossed his head back against the couch and sighed at how pathetic he was. He hadn't gotten so many boners in such a short amount of time since he was a teenager. He grabbed a pillow and covered himself with it in case Olivia returned, but then he jumped when he heard the clattering of dishes in the kitchen.

"Shit," Olivia muttered.

Thinking that she might be hurt, Fitz hurried to the kitchen and found her on top of the counter, reaching for some mugs in a high part of the cupboard.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to get this cup," she said, still straining to reach. "I don't know why Jill puts these things so high up."

"Well let me help you before you hurt yourself."

"No, I got it, I..."

She reached again but lost her balance and fell off the counter, right into his arms. Fitz kept his arms around her, mostly because his heart had stopped when she slowly slid down his body and her butt ran right into his crotch. He felt her tense up and they were so quiet that they could have heard a pin drop. He closed his eyes in total humiliation as his rock-hard lower half pressed into her soft bottom, and he waited for her to yell at him or curse him out or react in some way. But instead, she just stood there for what felt like hours, which only made his penis harder.

"Olivia," he said softly. He formed his lips to say something but before he could, she slowly turned around. He prepared himself for a slap across the face, but rather than the look of outrage he expected, she looked...hungry. Aroused. And he became impossibly harder. His hands were still on her hips as he mumbled a pathetic apology.

She didn't respond with words. Rather, her eyes dropped from his, swept over his body and then fell to his pants, where he was pitching a tent so large that she could have camped underneath it. His body flushed as she stared, and he had no idea what she would say or do. But then, her small hand shakily reached out and caressed him over his shorts. He stood stone still as she gently hooked both hands in his shorts and pulled them down just enough for him to spring out and point at her like the needle on a compass.

Olivia looked at it in its raw form and to his surprise and delight, she wrapped her hand around him and very slowly stroked once. Fitz's mouth fell open and he groaned. He knew that he shouldn't let her do anything else to him, that he should yank his shorts up and hightail it out of there, but he couldn't think straight when she looked up at him again and continued to stroke him with her dainty hand. He nearly lost his mind when she pressed her thumb to the head and spread out the moisture there, and with every groan of approval, her eyes got darker and her eyelids heavier.

He never told her to stop and he never pulled away. She pumped him harder and faster, never breaking her rhythm, until he had to grip the edges of the counter on either side of her to keep himself from exploding. He began to thrust his hips into her hand and he kept going until the force of his motions made her grab his erection with both hands and work him up and down, one hand on top of the other. It was that sensation that finally sent him over the cliff, and he pulled away just in time to spill his seed all over her floor. He closed his eyes and grunted as he came, stroking himself until there was nothing left.

When he came down from his high and opened his eyes, Olivia was still standing there, looking mesmerized. He kept his eyes on her as he grabbed a paper towel, cleaned up his mess, then moved right back into the space where he had just been. He didn't warn her before he pulled her leggings down, followed by her underwear, and slid his finger between her thighs and found her to be as wet as he had been hard.

"Spread your legs," he said.

She braced herself against the counter as she did what he said, then he dropped to his knees and placed his mouth on her. She hissed and tossed her head back and offered little resistance as Fitz maneuvered so that both of her legs were over his shoulders. He closed his eyes and slid his tongue inside her, which earned a loud moan. He rubbed his thighs as he alternated between licking her folds, sucking her clit and working his tongue back and forth inside her sweet center. He was happy to learn that she was not quiet about what she liked and every time he did something good, she whimpered or whispered a soft "oh God."

Fitz didn't want to rush her pleasure but he wasn't sure how long they had alone, so after he had sufficiently worked her up, he slowly inserted his middle finger while he sucked on her and moved the finger back and forth. Olivia's hands finally came off the counter and threaded into his hair and once he added another finger, she used his hair as leverage and pumped herself against his face. The closer she got to her orgasm, the harder she pulled on his hair and the louder her cries became. Her curved his fingers inside her and sucked hard on her clit and that did the trick.

"Fitz!" she screamed. "Oh God! I'm coming!" she said over and over as she pressed his face so hard into her that he nearly suffocated. Her legs shook on either side of his face and he held her in his mouth until she stopped screaming and her grip on his head relaxed. He could hear her breathing hard above him, so he gently retracted himself from her and put her feet on the floor again. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up, pulling his shorts up with him. Olivia stared at him, panting and sated, and he felt the need to do it all over again.

Before they could speak, the cell phone hanging in the kitchen rang loudly and Olivia scrambled to pull up her pants and answer it.

"Hello?" she answered, clearly out of breath. "Oh, Jill, you're on your way home?" Her eyes darted to Fitz. "Okay, yeah, drive safely. See you in a few." She hung up and she and Fitz shared an intense stare before she said, "she'll be here soon."

"Okay, I should be on my way."

She nodded, looking much more meek than she had a minute before when she was using his face as a humping post. He excused himself to the dryer, where he found that his clothes were still damp but he didn't have time to wait for them.

"I can bring the shirt and shorts back to you some other time," he offered.

"Sure, that's fine."

He balled up the clothes and returned to the living room, where Olivia was biting her lip and looking everywhere but at him. He thought about just leaving, but that didn't feel right.

"We'll talk about this later?" he asked.

"Mm hm."

But her answer was completely noncommittal and unsatisfying, so he approached until he was standing right in front of her. His sheer proximity forced her to look at him and when she did, he said it again.

"We'll talk about this later," he said directed softly. She nodded and he caressed her chin, then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. He wasn't sure how she would respond, so he was pleased when she returned the pressure and their mouths detached with a soft smack. "This isn't over."

Olivia bit her lip and studied him for a moment. "No. I don't think it is."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The ride home was a long one for Fitz. He couldn't stop replaying what had just happened with Olivia: every touch, every sigh and every moan. Every time he thought about the feel of her smooth legs wrapped around his face, he felt a jolt in arousal in his pants, followed by the crushing weight of guilt. He had never been unfaithful a woman before, and certainly not his wife. He had always considered himself a good man and was generally disgusted by cheaters. After seeing his father constantly step out on his mom, he'd promised himself that he wouldn't be that guy.

But then Olivia Pope came along.

He could hardly believe how things had gone down in her kitchen. He knew that they had been dancing around each other for weeks, but he hadn't expected her to react the way she did. And he certainly couldn't wrap his mind around his own behavior.

Fitz pulled up to the driveway of his house and turned off the car, but he didn't move. He looked at the front door, imagining how he would walk inside, greet his wife and kids and act like everything was normal. Like he hadn't just performed oral sex on his student.

_His student._

It wasn't until that very moment that Fitz even realized how wrong his actions were on every level. Suddenly, he was seized by fear that Olivia would say something to someone and he would lose his job. The rational part of his brain told him that Olivia wasn't that type of girl; she was discreet and didn't want to be embroiled in a scandal any more than he did. But still, worry nagged at him.

"Fitz?" Mellie called from the front door. He snapped out of his thoughts and realized that Mellie had been waving at him, probably wondering what the hell his problem was, while he just stared blankly ahead like an idiot. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and finally extracted himself from the car and put on his best fake smile.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking," he said.

"Looks like." Mellie took in his appearance. "I didn't know you were going to the gym today."

"The gym? I didn't..." But he snapped his mouth shut before he could finish his thought. He realized that he was still wearing the clothes he'd taken from Olivia's apartment and he quickly hopped on to his wife's explanation. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry, Mel. I didn't realize that I forgot to let you know."

For a split second, she looked like she didn't believe him and his heart stopped beating. He knew that if Mellie even suspected that he had been cheating, all hell would break loose. But just as soon as she eyed him, she smiled and shrugged.

"It's not a big deal," she said. "I was just expecting you earlier, that's all."

"Sorry. I'll try not to keep you waiting next time."

Fitz knew that he was being overly apologetic about something that Mellie didn't think was that big a problem, but he couldn't combat the awful feeling in his stomach about what he had just done. He gathered his things from the car and spent the rest of the night with the kids, trying to take his mind off things. When he finally made it to bed, Mellie was already tucked in and flipping through the TV channels. He quietly changed into pajamas and slid into his side of the bed. Neither of them said anything for a while, until Mellie turned off the TV and he could feel her looking at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You seem upset about something."

"I'm fine...it's just school stuff."

It wasn't a complete lie and Mellie seemed to go with it.

"Okay. Good night."

She turned away from him and Fitz stared straight head into the darkness. His mind still whirred with the implications of his tryst with Olivia. Despite his worries and guilt, the most prominent thought was how amazing she felt and tasted. As much as he was concerned about his future, he was just as worried about his attraction to Olivia. He worried about how much he still wanted her, even as he lay next to his wife. He worried about how they would interact in the future and whether they would be able to have any semblance of normalcy.

He didn't sleep that night, and he barely slept the whole weekend. His stomach was in knots as he walked into class on Monday and he dreaded having to see Olivia.

Only, she didn't show up. She skipped class, then she skipped their project meeting on Tuesday. She was once again a no-show on Wednesday and Fitz began to worry. He knew that she was a conscientious student and there was no way she would willingly forego class attendance points unless she just couldn't face him. And that only made him feel worse about their indiscretion.

When she still hadn't shown up for class on Friday, Fitz began to panic. In his lust, he hadn't thought about how Olivia might be affected. His mind jumped from thought to thought, including that she might not ever come back to class and she would fail, or that she was going to drop out or transfer. He was a complete mess when he made it back to his office that afternoon, and he even went so far as to come up with a list of professors that he would consider asking to take over his class so Olivia would feel comfortable enough to come back. He was busy scribbling names down when there was a soft knock at his door.

"Yeah," he called.

When the door didn't open immediately, he looked up and waited. And to his surprise, relief and embarrassment, Olivia Pope finally walked inside. She briefly made eye contact with him before turning her attention to the couch across from his desk. She placed a stack of papers in front of him, then sat down.

"That's the draft of my paper," she said.

Fitz stared at her but she wouldn't return the look, so he flipped through the pages of her draft and pretended to read it. He considered playing the avoidance game with her but he had been worried about her all week and he just couldn't let her absences go unnoticed.

"You've missed three classes."

"I know. I wasn't feeling well this week."

"You can't miss any more if you don't want it to affect your grade."

"I know."

She looked at him in the eyes, daring him to ask her the real reason why she had skipped class all week. He knew better. So they sat in awkward, tense silence while Fitz tried his best to get into professor mode and read over her draft. But he kept reading the same sentence over and over again until he finally pushed it away from him.

"Olivia, we have to talk," he said lowly.

Her eyes briefly widened in fear, but then she shook her head.

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do. This has been hanging over my head since Friday and I can't just pretend it didn't happen."

"Nothing happened, Professor Grant. So there's nothing for us to talk about."

A flurry of emotions swirled in Fitz's body, ranging from anger to confusion to hurt. Of all the ways he'd imagined they would handle the situation, somehow he hadn't thought that she would just act like it hadn't happened at all. But despite the fact that her attitude hurt his pride, he knew that her approach was probably the best one. Nothing good would come of them acknowledging their actions, or even their mutual attraction, so he put on a strong face and nodded.

"I'll read over this and get back to you," he said in a dismissive tone.

There appeared to be a flicker of something in her eyes...maybe guilt or disappointment. But just as soon quickly as it appeared, it was gone. And so was she.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When Jill got home, the apartment was eerily silent. Olivia was usually perched on the couch, reading a book or watching TV, but the living room was empty and she wasn't in the kitchen either. Jill placed her bag down and headed to Olivia's room. She pressed her ear to the door and when she heard nothing, she tentatively knocked. After a very soft "come in," she poked her head inside and saw her roommate lying down on her side, turned away from the door.

"Liv?" Jill asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Mm hm."

But she didn't turn around or offer any explanation, so Jill walked inside and sat on the empty side of the bed. She waited until Olivia looked up at her and said what she had been wanting to say all week.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting depressed for days and now you're laying in here like everyone you know just died."

"Nothing's wrong," Olivia said weakly.

"Cut the shit, Liv," she said sternly. "You've been quiet and detached and I didn't say anything when you kept skipping class, but something is obviously wrong. And I'm going to sit my ass right here until you tell me what."

She made her point by putting her feet up, shoes and all, and situating herself against the back of the bed. She folded her arms and waited and after several quiet minutes, Olivia finally sighed. She sat up next to her friend and ran dainty hands over her tired face. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped.

"You can tell me, you know," Jill offered. "I'm your best friend. Whatever it is, I won't judge."

"Yes you will."

"I won't. I swear."

Olivia looked down at her hands. "I did something bad."

"Okay," Jill said slowly. "Bad, like...how bad?"

"Really bad."

"Like, you might to go prison bad?"

"No," Olivia said immediately. "Like, completely immoral and wrong."

"Oh, okay. For a second there, you had me thinking I was going to have to help you dispose of a body or something."

Olivia made a face and Jill laughed and nudged with her shoulder.

"Immoral bad is something we can deal with. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"No."

"All right. I take it that you're feeling guilty."

"Yes."

"Because you did it? Or because you liked it?"

Olivia rested her head against the back of the bed and thought about the question. It was the same thing she had been asking herself since the incident with Fitz in the kitchen. She wasn't sure which she felt worse about: initiating such contact with her teacher, or constantly thinking about how she wanted to do it again.

"Both," she finally answered.

"Well you know what?" Jill started as she got off the bed. "We all do things we're not proud of. But you can't just sit in your bedroom in the dark forever. You need to go out and have fun and forgive yourself." She walked to the other side of the bed and grabbed Olivia's hands. She started to pull her up, but Olivia resisted.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going out. We're going to get extra sexy, have some drinks and maybe even bring home some men tonight."

"Ugh," Liv groaned. "I don't want to go out or get sexy and I definitely don't want another man."

She knew as soon as the words "another man" escaped her lips, she had made a big mistake. Jill dropped her hands and quirked an eyebrow.

"So this is about a man?" she asked. "I mean I kind of figured but now I _have_ to know."

"I can't tell you," she said weakly.

Jill continued to look at her with her eyebrow raised, and then she shrugged. "Okay. You have two options. You can either put on your big girl panties and have fun with me tonight, or you can hear my theory about exactly which man has you all fucked up. And you know how I am when I want to find something out, Liv. So unless you want your mystery man to be unveiled, you'll go get in the shower and get ready."

Olivia knew that Jill's threats weren't empty; when she wanted to learn something, she was like a dog with a bone. Liv knew that it would only take a few good guesses before Jill landed on Fitz's name and she couldn't let that happen, for her sake and his. So she mustered up the little energy she had and pulled herself off the bed.

"A night out, it is," she said.

Jill smiled. "I thought you'd see it my way."

Olivia allowed herself to be ushered into the bathroom and for the next couple of hours, she went through the motions of getting ready. By the time she was dressed, with her hair and makeup done, she did feel a little bit better. It was nice to have a distraction from the ever-present thoughts of Fitz, including his soft hair that she had nearly pulled out when he was eating her like a buffet and his gorgeous, big, thick...

"Hey, I just called a cab," Jill said, snapping Olivia out of her x-rated thoughts. "Let's do some pre-game shots, shall we?"

Liv didn't put up a fight and they met in the kitchen, a place that she was sure she would never see the same way. She accepted a shot glass full of tequila and raised it to toast.

"To taking your mind off what ails you," Jill said.

"Amen."

They downed the shots and took one more before the cab showed up. They ended up at a nightclub that they had been to a few times before and once they were inside, Jill finagled some free drinks out of the bartender. By the time they actually made it onto the dance floor, Olivia was comfortably intoxicated. She let loose and danced with Jill, feeling free of her burdens for the first time in a week. For a short blissful time, her mind was completely void of any thoughts of Fitz.

But as the liquor really settled in, thoughts of their tryst raced to the front of her mind. And rather than feeling guilty, she was just incredibly horny. She broke away from Jill and grabbed a handsome guy that had been watching her from the wall. She pushed her body into him and danced the way that she wanted to move with Fitz. The guy put a death grip on her hips as he tried to hold on for the ride. She worked him so hard that she started to sweat and then she felt his lips on her neck. She allowed his touch and even rolled her head back so he could get better access.

"You are driving me crazy," he whispered in her ear. "Please tell me I can take you home with me."

In her drunken state, the idea sounded like a grand one. She really needed sex, and she needed it from someone who wasn't her married teacher. So she turned around in his arms and offered a lazy smile.

"No," she said slowly. "But_ I_ can take you home with _me_."

He smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

Olivia wasted no time taking his hands and leading him towards the door. She found Jill and gave her a look, and Jill gave her the thumbs up. A few cabs were already lined up and Olivia and her companion jumped into one. No sooner had she given the driver her address did her male friend pull her into his arms and engage her in a sloppy wet kiss. She was on auto pilot all the way to her apartment, enjoying every touch and kiss from her nameless mate and forgetting everything else. Their hurried embrace continued even after they had made it into her apartment and he pushed her against the door. Their lips broke apart just long enough for her to focus on his face as he rubbed his erection between her legs.

"What's your name?" he whispered.

"Olivia."

"I'm Jonathan." He returned to kissing her neck, but the spell had been broken. All Olivia could think about was that if she had sex with him, 'Jonathan' wasn't the name she would want to call. She ran her hands over the back of his head and was disappointed that there was no hair to grab, no soft strands to weave her fingers through. He didn't feel like Fitz. He didn't smell like Fitz. And just like that, she came to her senses.

"Wait, wait," she said, pushing Jonathan away. "I'm sorry. I can't do this."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I...I'm using you."

He smiled and shrugged. "I don't care. You can use me all you want." He leaned in to kiss her again, but she pushed him harder until she was out of his grip.

"No, I mean...I'm thinking about somebody else. And I don't do this," she said pathetically. "This whole, hook-up, one night stand thing. I'm sorry."

He rubbed the back of his neck and Olivia watched him struggle with whether to be upset or just accept her decision. He sighed and offered her a small smile.

"I understand," he said. "Believe it not, I don't really do this either. But you're so pretty, I couldn't help myself."

She smiled sympathetically. "I really am sorry for leading you on like this. I've been kind of crazy all week."

"Don't apologize." He adjusted himself in his pants and gave her a sheepish look. "Guess I should get going."

"Let me at least give you money for a cab," she said, as she reached for her purse.

"No, you don't have to do that. I wouldn't mind having your number, though. Maybe after you're finished thinking about that other guy, you can give me a call?"

Olivia wasn't sure when or if she would be finished thinking about Fitz, but Jonathan was cute and nice and maybe he could distract her. So she gave him her number and walked outside with him. They sat on a bench together and talked until a cab pulled up. They said their goodbyes and Olivia headed back up to her place, where she peeled off her dress, removed her makeup and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She plopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the day and the week. It was funny, really.

Going out was supposed to take her mind off Fitz, but all it did was make her want him more.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

On Thanksgiving Day, the Grant household was alive with activity. Fitz's parents, Mellie's parents, his brother and her sister had all come to town and while Fitz was mostly happy to see them, he couldn't ignore the ever-present tension between him and his father. No sooner had Big Gerry walked through the door did he start to berate Fitz about everything from his career choices to the size of his house. Fitz's mom and brother did a good job of trying to buffer the situation, but after a couple of hours of nonstop badgering, Fitz escaped to his study and closed the door behind him. He ferreted out a bottle of his favorite scotch and poured some into a glass. He took a swig and felt a little more relaxed as the alcohol spread throughout his body.

"Fitz?" Mellie asked softly, stepping into the room. He turned around and nodded his head in acknowledgment of her presence. He steeled himself for whatever she had to say; usually, she sided with Big Gerry and she hadn't complained about his lack of political motivation in weeks, so he figured he was overdue.

"Are you okay?" she asked instead.

"Uh...yeah," he said, surprised by her question. "You know how it is with Dad."

"I do," she agreed as she closed the door. "He seems to be even harder on you this time than usual."

"Yeah, well..." He shrugged because he wasn't sure what else to say. Mellie appeared unsure of how to console him, so she put on her usual smile.

"I'll try to distract him. I hate for you to miss time with the family just because your dad is being an ass."

Fitz could barely believe how supportive she was being. But then again, over the past couple of weeks, she had been a much different Mellie than the one he was used to. Although he had done his best to hide it, he had been racked with guilt over his tryst with Olivia and his feelings for her and Mellie must have picked up on something because her icy exterior had melted just enough for her to almost seem compassionate. And that only served to make him feel worse.

"Mel, wait," he blurted out right as she was almost out the door. She turned and gave him a questioning look. "Let's do something."

"Do something?"

"Yeah. You and me. Let's go to the movies."

Her eyebrows shot off her head in shock and Fitz felt horrible that his own wife would react in such a way to a suggestion as simple as the movies.

"Uh...well...everyone's here," she started.

"Which means we have a bunch of free babysitters." He took a step towards her. "We haven't been on a date in forever and I have to get out of this house. I need this. _We_ need this."

Something in her expression told him that she understood just how badly they needed to spend time together, so she nodded and even smiled.

"I'll get my jacket."

The grandparents and aunts and uncles were more than happy to keep the kids, and Fitz and Mellie headed out. The first few moments in the car were silent and awkward, and Fitz realized that it had been a very long time since he and his wife had spent any real alone time together. So he reached over and placed his hand on her thigh and although she seemed surprised at first, she relaxed into his touch and even asked him about school. For the first time since his encounter with Olivia, Fitz's guilt began to subside. He thought that maybe his cheating might actually have put his marriage back on track, as crazy as that was.

When they pulled up to the theater, there was a line curled from the box office all the way out to the parking lot. Mellie offered to get in line while Fitz parked, so he dropped her off and circled the lot a couple of times until he finally found a spot in a far corner. He walked the trek to the back of the line and peered over heads until he found one that looked like Mellie's. He saw her talking to someone and it wasn't until he got closer that he saw who it was.

His eyes fell on Olivia, who was standing just in front of Mellie and nodding and smiling at whatever his wife was saying. She looked beautiful, of course, but Fitz barely noticed what she was wearing because his gaze zeroed in on the fact that she was with a man. A man who was standing very close to her and whose hand was on her waist.

Jealousy spiked from every pore in Fitz's body as a million questions ran through his head. Who was the guy? How long had Olivia been seeing him? Were they having sex? He couldn't stop the images of her being sweaty and passionate with someone else, no matter how much he didn't want to picture it. By the time he reached the threesome of Mellie, Olivia and her mystery date, his hands had clenched into fists and his jaw was set so tightly that his teeth were beginning to hurt.

"Oh, Fitz," Mellie said as he finally made it to her side. "I ran into your student. Olivia, right?"

"Right," Olivia said softly. She wrapped her arms around herself and made the most fleeting eye contact with Fitz. "Professor Grant, it's nice to see you."

He almost didn't even respond. She had been giving him the cold shoulder since their hook-up. Even after she'd stopped skipping class, she would barely look at him and never volunteered to answer questions. When they had their one-on-one project sessions, she would hardly speak. To say that things were tense between them would have been an egregious understatement.

"Ms. Pope," he said in his most detached voice. He turned his attention to the man next to Olivia. "And you are?"

"Jonathan," the man said with a smile.

"He's Olivia's boyfriend," Mellie said with a dreamy smile. She linked her arm through Fitz's and sighed. "I just love to see young love. Don't you?"

Fitz's brain had skidded to a stop after the word "boyfriend." His eyes darted to Olivia again, who looked down like she was embarrassed. The jealousy and anger began to pump full blast in his veins, even though he knew his feelings were completely irrational. It wasn't as if he and Olivia had a relationship. He had no claim on her whatsoever. She was free to date whichever guy she wanted.

And yet, he felt betrayed. She had been so quick to shut him down and move on to the next guy. Somewhere, deep down, he knew it was for the best. But that didn't stop it from hurting.

"The line's moving," he said, ignoring Mellie's question.

He stood as frosty as a snowman while they slowly made their way to the box office. Mellie, Olivia and Jonathan chatted about random things that he wasn't paying attention to and he said absolutely nothing. He was happy to finally break away from the happy young couple as he and Mellie went to a separate cashier. He hadn't even thought about which show they would see, so he just bought tickets for the first thing available and ushered his wife inside.

He was still quietly seething as Mellie dragged him to the snack bar where they bought her favorite candy and soda. They made their way into their assigned theater, which was packed. Only a few available seats were scattered throughout and Fitz found an empty row of four seats off to the right side.

"After you," he said to Mellie, but she shook her head.

"You know I like to sit on the aisle," she reminded him.

So she took the aisle seat and he took the one next to it. He tried to get over his annoyance with Olivia, but she made that impossible when she and Jonathan walked into the same theater and his eyes connected with hers. He knew that she saw the empty seats next to him, and she tried to walk in a different direction. But Jonathan was already walking towards them.

"Do you guys mind if we join you?" Jonathan asked.

Fitz opened his mouth to say 'yes' but Mellie beat him to the punch. "Of course not."

"Honey, I'm sure my student doesn't want to sit next to me during a movie," he said.

But Mellie waved her hand like it was nonsense. "We're not talking about school. It's fine. And besides, there are hardly any seats left."

So despite his better judgment, Fitz stood and allowed Jonathan to walk by him and take the seat at the end of the row. That meant that Olivia was going to sit right next to him, and as she scooted past him, he could smell her scent and it drove him crazy. The narrowness of the aisle didn't allow much wiggle room and she brushed past him, which only ignited every sense in his body. She uttered a soft apology and then sat down next to him. He slowly lowered into his own seat, intent on staring straight ahead.

He heard Jonathan ask Olivia whether she wanted something from the concession stand and although she said no, he decided to get something for himself before the movie started. Fitz had to stand again to let him by and as soon as he sat down, Mellie stood up.

"I think I'll run to the ladies' room before the show starts. Don't eat all my Sour Patch Kids," she said.

Before he could come up with a reason for her not to leave him alone with Olivia, she was already walking back down the steps. Fitz immediately felt the tension mount and refused to look to his right. He sat quietly as the theater continued to fill up, then he heard Olivia's soft voice next to him.

"I can move, if you want," she offered. "There are a couple of empty seats down in front."

He seriously contemplated not responding to her. Maybe if he ignored her like she did him, she would know how shitty it felt. A few seconds of silence ticked by and he could feel her gaze on the side of his face. He dared a quick glance and immediately felt guilty. Her expressive brown eyes were wide with uncertainty and suddenly he felt like an angst-y teenager instead of a 38-year-old man.

"That's not necessary," he finally said.

"Oh." She looked down and said, "because it seems like I'm bothering you."

"I don't see how I could be bothered when you've barely said a word to me."

It was clear that she knew he was talking about more than just that night, but she didn't respond. Again, they fell into silence. Fitz thought they would simply continue to avoid each other, until Olivia spoke again.

"You're married," she said quietly.

"I realize that."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to me," he said in a harsh whisper. "Pretending like it didn't happen doesn't fix anything. I felt guilty enough as it was, but then you missed class for a week and it made me feel like I had raped you or something."

Olivia's head snapped up and she shook it vigorously. "I don't feel that way."

"Well how am I supposed to know that, Olivia? You avoid me at every turn and I'm left to figure out your feelings for myself. All I wanted was for you to talk to me so I could apologize and make it right."

Fitz hadn't even realized how upset he was until the words came out of his mouth, but he felt some relief after telling her about his feelings. She seemed shocked by his response because her eyes went wide and then lowered in guilt. He turned his attention back to the screen, assuming that the conversation was over. So he was quite surprised when he felt a warm hand on his thigh. He looked down and watched as Olivia's fingers crept to his until she was holding his hand. He looked at her but before they could speak again, she quickly drew her hand away and straightened up. Fitz followed her eyes to where Mellie was walking back in just as the theater grew dark.

As the previews played and Jonathan squeezed his way back into the aisle, Fitz's brain was scrambled. On one side of his body, Mellie scooted close to him and he reflexively put his arm around her. On the other side of his body, his hand still tingled from the unexpected contact with Olivia and he wanted it again. So after a quick glance up and down the aisle to make sure that neither Mellie nor Jonathan would see, Fitz slipped his hand underneath the shared armrest between his and Olivia's chairs. He brushed a finger against her thigh and his heart beat wildly at the possibility that she might reject him.

But she didn't.

Her hand crept to his and she slowly intertwined their fingers. They stayed like that for the rest of the movie and reluctantly parted as the ending credits began to roll and the lights came back on. The four of them filed out with the rest of the moviegoers and separated once they were outside. They said their goodbyes and while Olivia and Jonathan went one way, Fitz and Mellie went another. Fitz chanced a look back to find that Olivia was glancing over her shoulder at him as well. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask if they were going to talk, and her response was a slight nod.

Fitz didn't know what to expect when they did talk, but he felt better just knowing that they would.


	11. Chapter 10

**Guys, fair warning: this chapter is short. They will probably all be short. I work full time, I'm 7 months pregnant, and any time I get to write is a luxury. Please don't complain about the chapter length...a short chapter is better than no chapter. Also please excuse any errors. My brain is like Swiss cheese these days.**

Chapter 10

The soft sounds of Christmas music filled Olivia's apartment as she folded the last of her clothes and placed them into her luggage. Jill had already gone home for the holidays and Olivia had originally planned to just hang around the apartment until the new semester started. She didn't have much family to speak of, so she surprised when her aunt called and insisted that she spend Christmas with her family in Atlanta. Olivia hesitated, only because she wasn't that close with her aunt. But she finally accepted the offer when she realized that anything was better than sitting around her place, trying not to think about Fitz.

She had somehow managed to avoid Fitz since their run-in at the movies. Olivia had berated herself for days over her behavior in the theater, holding his hand while his wife sat on his other side. She knew that he wanted to talk, but between her final exams and papers, she always had the convenient excuse that she was too busy. She figured that if she kept putting their "talk" off, he would give up and they would move past it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her front door. She checked her watch in surprise; she'd called for a cab but didn't expect them for nearly thirty more minutes. She hurried and zipped her bag, then swung the door open without looking through the peephole. She froze in place when she saw it wasn't the taxi driver...it was Fitz. And he looked annoyed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"You've been avoiding me."

Olivia started to shake her head and deny it, but he didn't seem interested. He brushed past her into the apartment, and she checked the hallway a few times before closing the door. When she turned around, she saw Fitz looking at her packed bags. He then turned back to her and raised an eyebrow as if to ask her where she was going.

"I'm spending Christmas with my aunt," she said. "My flight's in two hours. I thought you were the cab driver. He should actually be here any minute, so..."

"You don't need a taxi. I'll drive you."

"That's not necessary."

"Actually, it is. Because if I don't drive you, you'll just continue to ignore me and the conversation that we need to have." He picked up two bags and nodded towards the door. "Is this everything?"

Olivia desperately wanted to kick him out, but she felt guilty about weaseling her way out of their talk. So she shook her head and Fitz placed the bags down. He sat on the couch and looked at her, wordlessly telling her that he would wait until she was ready. So she cancelled the cab and packed her carry-on bag. When she was finished, she tossed the bag over her shoulder and nodded at Fitz.

"That's everything."

They walked in silence to the parking lot, where Fitz loaded her bags and they got into their respective seats. As he pulled onto the street, Olivia shot him a few nervous glances, wondering when he would start the uncomfortable conversation that was to come.

But he never did. He just looked straight ahead, one hand on the wheel and the other on his thigh. His jaw was set in an irritated clench and she wondered if he was just going to make it so tense between them that she exploded. As they got onto the highway and he still hadn't said anything, she finally spoke.

"So are you going to say anything or are you just going to drive and be angry?"

"I'm not angry," he said dryly.

"It certainly seems like you are."

"I'm not angry," he said again. "I'm confused. I'm confused as to how a grown woman can act so childish."

His words caused a spike of anger in her veins.

"Excuse me?"

"I've tried at least three times to talk to you and you always had some excuse to get out of it. Now I see that you were planning to skip town and then come back next semester and do what, exactly? Act like it never happened? That's behavior I'd expect from a teenager, not an adult."

Olivia scoffed and folded her arms as she stared daggers at him.

"_I'm_ acting like a teenager? You don't think this forlorn little boy routine of yours is a bit ridiculous? You should be _thrilled_ that I'm not one of those women that follows you around, clinging to you and expecting you to leave your wife just because we messed around. I'm not some naive little girl, Fitz. I don't expect to ride off into the sunset with you. I see this situation for what it is: we're attracted to each other, we got our rocks off and now it's over. There's nothing to talk about."

She watched as his jaw eased slightly and he glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road.

"Is that really what you think?" he asked after a long minute.

"Of course that's what I think," she said in a frustrated exhale.

She turned her body away from him and looked out the window as they drove.

"Olivia," Fitz said. At first, she didn't turn around. But when she felt his gaze on her neck, she glanced back at him. "Before I met you, I had never cheated on my wife. I'd never cheated on any woman I'd ever been with. But I knew the first time I saw you in my class, and you were wearing that yellow sundress and I couldn't take my eyes off you...I knew I was in trouble."

Olivia's body language softened and she slowly turned so that she was facing him.

"Yes, I'm attracted to you," he continued. "You're incredibly sexy and physically appealing. But you're also smart and interesting and kind of mysterious. And as much as I shouldn't, I want to get to know you. I want to explore whatever this is between us because to be perfectly honest, I've never felt so drawn to someone before. Not even my wife. If it turns out that all we feel for each other is some kind of crazy lust, then okay. I'll beg my wife for forgiveness and you and I will go our separate ways. But I feel like it's more than that. And I want to give it a chance because I think you might be the person I've been waiting for."

He momentarily took his eyes off the road and they stared at each other. The sincerity that showed on his face nearly overwhelmed her, so she looked away from him. She could tell that he was waiting for her to respond, but the truth was, she had no idea what to say. No man had ever been so honest about his feelings for her and the idea that she wasn't just some side girl was frightening.

Silence fell over them as Olivia replayed everything Fitz had said to her. They didn't speak at all until he was pulling into the airport and she told him which terminal to go to. He parked his car in front of her drop-off spot and they both got out to retrieve her bags. Once he placed the luggage on the curb, Fitz shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged.

"Have a good Christmas," he said. "I hope I'll see you when you get back, but if not, I guess I'll understand."

He turned to get back into the car but Olivia spoke up before he got inside.

"What if I wanted to talk to you over the break?" she asked softly. "Could I call you?"

Fitz's eyes widened a bit in surprise, then he nodded slowly. "Yes."

"I mean, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble with your wife."

"I have a separate line in my study. You could call me on that." He walked back to where she stood on the curb. "I'd love to know that you made to your destination safely."

"It'll be pretty late when I get there."

"I'll wait up, if you promise to call."

Olivia felt a flutter in her chest, just like she had the first time she'd given her number to a boy. She pulled a pen out of her purse and tore off a small piece of a napkin and handed them to Fitz. He wrote down his number and she stuffed the napkin into her pocket.

"Thanks for the ride," she said. "I'll call when I get to my aunt's house."

"Be safe."

She nodded and knew that she should go, but something about leaving him without more just didn't feel right. Not after everything he'd said to her. So despite not having worked it all out in her mind, she threw caution into the wind and went with her instinct. She stepped closer to Fitz, hooked her fingers into his belt loops and stood on her tiptoes. She got close enough to rub her lips against his and after a few seconds of that, she kissed him softly. She then sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and released it with a plop. When she pulled away from him, his eyelids hung heavy over his eyes and he looked like he wanted a lot more of that.

"Don't tease me," he begged quietly.

"I'm not."

And with that, she put her bag on her shoulder and grabbed the handles of her wheeled luggage. She walked into the terminal and glanced over her shoulder once, where Fitz still stood, looking dazed. It was at that moment that she decided that she was going to call Fitz over the break and when she returned for the new semester, she was going to give them a chance.


End file.
